Resources For Business – A Guide To Setting Up your WAHM Business

Running a business can be tough. It doesn’t matter what sort of business you have, there is so much to think about. Websites, photos, accounting, social media, marketing, SEO. And that’s all before you’ve even got your first sale or client! I would like to share with you my Ultimate Checklist & Secrets – A Guide To Setting Up your WAHM Business with some of my favourite tools and resources for business I have used over the years that has helped my business and made it easier for me to achieve my goals.

I’ve also asked a bunch of business people what they use and come up with a great list of business tools that can get you on your way. Whatever you may need for your work at home business, you can find something here.

Remember, what works for someone else, may not suit you, especially when it comes to technology. So research and figure out what YOU need and are comfortable using (and paying for) to make your business run smoothly.

Disclosure: Some of the links in this post are ‘affiliate links’. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, we will receive an affiliate commission (we have to pay for the website somehow). However, we don’t recommend anything we haven’t or wouldn’t use ourselves. Also some of the links give you great deals if you use it, rather than just going through Google.

Website Builders

WordPress – A great platform if you want to create something exactly how you want it and you have a vision in mind. WordPress itself is free, but you will need to host the website somewhere which can vary in cost (see the hosting section for some suggestions)

Shopify – If you want to start an ecommerce store than this is a great option. You can read our review. Very user friendly and is generally pretty easy to muddle around yourself (although you can hire a professional to take your site to the next level). Starts from $29 USD per month but they offer a free trial to get started.

Leadpages – Designed more for creating landing pages, this is probably best suited for people wanting to sell courses, ebooks, special offers or build email lists. Starting from $25 USD per month.

WIX – Wix can be used as a free platform to get you started if your struggling for cash, but most people find they outrgrow the free limitations pretty quickly. You can then go onto their premium plans which start at $4.50 USD per month however you really need to be on the $12.50 USD per month or above plan before it becomes useful.

Squarespace – Able to be used as a normal website (for blogging etc) or an ecommerce store, Squarespace allows you to pick a template and start designing. Starts from $16 AUD per month for a personal website or $25 AUD per month for a business website.

Neto – Another ecommerce platform designed to be an all in one. They are Australian based and can be used for an online store, physical store point of sale, and can link to eBay and Amazon. Starts at $79 AUD per month.

Domain Names

Crazy Domains – There are so many places to get domain names, but I’ve always found Crazy Domains quick and easy to deal with.

Website Hosting

Siteground – Starting at $4.95 AUD per month for hosting a basic website (generally all you need starting out). Their closest datacentre is Singapore which is fine for Australian website speeds, unless you’re planning on building the Taj Mahal of websites.

Ventra IP – An Australian company with their servers in Australia as well. Starts at $6.95 AUD per month for basic hosting.

Bluehost – Starting at $2.95 USD per month, although for a business website you would proabably at least need the $5.95 plan unless it’s very simple.

Wordpress

ThemeForest – This website has themes available to purchase for virtually any website platform. The site has over 11,000 WordPress themes and over 500 for Shopify, with many more platforms supported. Prices vary depending on platform and design.

Elegant Themes – Elegant Themes makes themes and plugins, with the most popular by far being the Divi theme. This is one of the most versatile themes you can buy for WordPress, and in fact, Work At Home Mums uses it so we have complete confidence in its uses.

Etsy – Did you know you can buy website themes on Etsy? Just search for ‘website theme’, ‘shopify theme’, ‘wordpress theme’ (you get the idea) and a multitude of listings will come up from designers.

Creative Market – Like Etsy, this site allows users to sell the themes and templates they have created.

Buy and Sell Marketplaces

Etsy – Designed as a marketplace for handmade and unique items. Not only can you buy and sell physical products, but digital products as well such as website themes, fonts, graphics and designs. A good way to get started if you are making something yourself and not ready for your own website.

Fiverr – The world’s largest marketplace for digital services. Get logo design, marketing services, whiteboards and more, starting from only $5.

E-Commerce

Shopify – If you want to start an ecommerce store than this is a great option. You can read our review. Very user friendly and is generally pretty easy to muddle around yourself (although you can hire a professional to take your site to the next level). Starts from $29 USD per month but they offer a free trial to get started.

Big Commerce – Read my review. Click Here 15-day FREE trial. BigCommerce is a true all-in-one ecommerce platform with the power to grow your business & help you sell more.

Oberlo is a dropshipping application created for Shopify users. Import products from AliExpress directly into their store and ship directly to their customers – in only a few clicks. This is brilliant.

Email Marketing

Mailchimp – A very popular email marketing program. Allows you to organise and send out emails to your mailing list. Easy to use drag and drop template system to create any typre of newsletter or email. Intergrates with many website platforms including WordPress and Shopify. Use this link to sign up and get a $30 credit on your account.

AWeber – Email automation, templates and more. Create and send beautiful, engaging emails in just a few minutes.

Get Response Complete online marketing platform. I used to use this for emails and marketing before switching to Mailchimp as I found I wasn’t using enough of the other features (such as webinars) to justify the extra cost but was happy with the platform itself and would probably go back if I find I need the other features.

Active Campaign – Another marketing platform that can create smarten up your email campaigns but can also support text messaging.

Squeeze Pages & Landing Pages

Leadpages – Designed for creating landing pages, this is best suited for people wanting to sell courses, ebooks, special offers or build email lists. Starting from $25 USD per month.

Clickfunnels – Designed as a one stop shop for sales funnels. Great for service based businesses or selling single products like ebooks, webinars, courses etc but can be used for selling anything. You can start with a free 14 day trial.

Plann – Plann is an Instagram planning app. You can design, edit, analyse and schedule your Instagram account and stories. Available as an app on Apple and Android, but in the planning stages for a web version too. WAHM doesn’t currently have an Instagram account but I know a lot of people that swear by this tool for Instagram planning.

Graphic Design, Logos & Banners

Canva – A fabulous graphic tool designed for you to be able to create virtually anything you want, from logos to Facebook banners, website graphics, ebook covers, social media posts. The list could go on for a while. If you are a little bit tech savvy, then it’s super easy to use, and even if you’re not, the drag and drop features make sure that it’s not that hard. Created by Aussies too!

Stencil – Very similar to Canva, with a drag and drop interface to make any design you would like. Use their templates or create your own. Add pictures, icons quotes and more.

Snappa – The fastest way for marketers and entrepreneurs to create graphics. Another tool in the same vein as Canva and Stencil, introducing Snappa.

Clipping Magic – Have you ever taken a photo that you would just love to remove the background from? Clipping Magic is and easy to use web based tool that does exactly that. Fabulous for removing the background in product shots for ecommerce stores.

Adobe Photoshop – If you really want to get into photo editing, rather than just using photos in graphic design programs, you’ll need to use something like Photoshop or similar. This will allow you much more ability to edit photos properly. Adobe also has other programs in their creative suite, allowing you to do pretty much anything you can think of in regards to images.

Stock Images & Photos

Remember when choosing photos, check that the licence enables you to use the photo for the purpose you want. The free sites will generally have limited use (website or blog use only) but some of the paid sites will have different options allowing various uses from websites to use on products to sell.

Deposit Photos – One of my personal favourites and where we get a lot of photos from for this website. You do need to pay for the photos, but you have a much better range to choose from than free sites.

General Business Help

Legal123 – Provides easy to use legal templates as well as other legal services. Their website legal package provides a privacy policy, website disclaimer and terms and conditions all for one price. You just choose your type of business and fill in the details. There’s also other great templates for small business and freelancer use such as contractor agreements, letter of demand and confidentiality agreements.

Payments & Subscriptions

Square – Accept card payments from tap-and-go cards, mobile wallets and chip cards. Absolutely fabulous for people selling at markets but can be used anywhere. You no longer need to only accept cash. Simple alternative to a full EFTPOS terminal.

Stripe & PayPal – The two most well know payment processors for ecommerce and websites.

Let’s Explore

Disclosure

Some of the links in the posts on this website are ‘affiliate links.’ This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, we will receive an affiliate commission.

Work At Home Mums is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.au.

Get the first 3 chapters of our eBook, Earn Extra Money Online!

You'll also be signed up to our mailing list for News, offers, events and more! But please check out our Privacy policy before signing up.

We respect your privacy. We do not give your email address to anyone, ever.